GVES Weekly Update
April 12, 2019
Upcoming Events
4/15-4/22: Spring Break--No School for Students
4/19: Offices Closed
4/23: Classes Resume
4/24-4/26: ELA PSSA Testing
4/26: GVES Spirit Day
SUMMER CAMPS
Summer Music Academy
https://www.eschoolgarnetvalley.com/2019-summer-courses/2019-summer-music-academy
PSSA Testing Dates - Attendance is Important
- ELA - Grades 3, 4, 5 - April 24, 25, & 26
- Math - Grades, 3, 4, 5 - April 29 & 30
- Science - Grade 4 only - May 1 & 2
Take Your Child to Work Day
April 25th is "Take Your Child to Work Day." Children who take the day to be with parents at work will be marked absent, but the absence will be excused. Absences should be reported using the Safe Arrival app as is the usual procedure. While we see the value in this learning and family bonding experience, we find ourselves with a scheduling conflict for our students in grades 3, 4, and 5. April 25th is a PSSA testing day. The state assessment calendar is dictated by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. It is important that students be present for the testing. The test make-up window is limited and providing make-up testing for large numbers of students would be very difficult. If your child is in grade 3, 4, or 5, please have him/her attend school on April 25th and consider another date if you choose to have your child visit your place of work if this is possible. Thank you.
Raptor Reminder
Beginning April 23, all visitors will need an ID to go into the school and/or main office even if you are a regular visitor and/or volunteer. Please bring your ID if you will be visiting the school. Details are below.
Garnet Valley School District is pleased to announce that we will begin using the Raptor Visitor Management System in all of our schools to strengthen our program of campus safety for students and faculty. Although Raptor is already used at the secondary level, all elementary schools will begin implementation after spring break. Part of keeping students and faculty safe is knowing who is in our buildings at all times, and the Raptor system will allow us to do that. The Raptor system will better allow us to screen visitors, contractors, and volunteers in our schools and provide us with a safer environment for our students and staff.
Upon entering a district building, visitors will be asked to present an ID such as a Driver’s License, which can either be scanned or manually entered into the system. If a parent or guardian for any reason does not have a US government-issued ID, the school staff member can use any form of identification and manually enter the person’s name into the Raptor system. The Raptor system will check to ensure that registered sexual offenders are not entering our school campuses without our knowledge. The Raptor system checks the visitor's name and date of birth for comparison with a national database of registered sex offenders. The registered sex offender database is the only official database checked by the Raptor system. No other data from the ID is gathered or recorded and the information is not shared with any outside agency. Once entry is approved, Raptor will issue a badge that identifies the visitor, the date, and the purpose of his/her visit. A visitor’s badge will not be necessary for those who visit our schools simply to drop off an item in the office or pick up paperwork.
The safety of our students is our highest priority and the Raptor visitor management system allows us to quickly identify those that may present a danger to our students. Thank you in advance for your understanding and your support in enhancing the school safety protocols in our district.
HSA Update
Staff Appreciation Week – May 6th – 10th
Staff Appreciation Week is May 6-May 10. Please help show the GVES staff how much we “REEL”y appreciate all that they do for our children. Use the link below to sign up to volunteer to help or to donate items for the week.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0c4bafa72da7fa7-2019
Spring break is a great time for your child to finish up their door decorations if they have not yet done so. The staff loves to read all of the thoughtful notes written by the students. One copy of each was sent home in collection folders. A printable copy of the door decorations is attached as well. We encourage students to fill out as many as they’d like for teachers and staff who have had an impact on them.
HSA Committee Work Group Meeting – Friday, May 3rd
Always wanted to help out with HSA events but don’t know how to get involved? Join us for our Committee Work Group Meeting and get to know us/get looped in! Friday, May 3rd – 9 am in the GVE LGI Room
Muffins in May! May 15th (Gr 3), May 16th (Gr 4) and May 17th (Gr 5)
Our annual Muffins in May celebration is coming up soon! Mark your calendars and stay tuned here for more information!
School News
Good Morning Viewers!
You can watch our most recent episode of GVES School News here. We have four more episodes after break. Feel free to reach out if you have anything you'd like featured in our broadcast. We would love to include you.
GV Mini Thon is Coming!
Student Placement Process
As we wrap up spring conferences, we naturally start to think about next school year. We have an extensive placement process that uses student assessment and observation data to help us place each student into next year’s classes. Our teachers collect this information, and it goes to our placement team. The team creates mixed-ability homerooms that are well-balanced by student gender, background, personality, and development. As part of this process, we do not accept requests for specific teachers. Such requests are not sent to the team that makes the classes.
On some occasions, there may be information specific to your child beyond what will be shared at spring conferences. If you believe there are circumstances that may not be addressed within the comprehensive placement process, please complete this form by May 1, 2019 for students who will be attending GVES in the fall. Teacher requests should not be included in these letters. The information you provide will go directly to the GVES principals in lieu of letters or emails regarding student placement.
Thank you for your understanding and confidence in our process to place all of our students.
Jaguar Jog Time Again
Get ready, Get Set, REGISTER!
Registration for the 5th Annual Jaguar Jog is now open.The afternoon of Family Fun will be held on April 28, 2019 from 1-4 pm. We will have the 5K and 1 mile races, along with entertainment by Charismatic Entertainment, field day games, Kona Ice and new this year - John Williams of RE/MAX Excellence will be raffling off a laptop computer! All who register and are in attendance are eligible to WIN the laptop! Other prizes include: a chance to win an iFLY gift card for all GVES students who run the 5K and water ice parties for the classes with the most participation!
Go to the website for more information and to register.
To volunteer please use this link https://www.signupgenius.com/go/805044aacaf28a20-fifth
If you are interested in sponsoring the event, please contact Jennifer Connolly. We are thrilled to have John Williams as our presenting sponsor and Charismatic Entertainment as our entertainment for the day! But we have plenty of room for more businesses to get involved.
COTA--Celebration of the Arts
The Celebration of the Arts is just around the corner. In fact, it's next month. The students of Garnet Valley have been diligently working in the Visual Arts, Technology, and Family and Consumer Science Departments. The Celebration of the Arts is our opportunity to demonstrate our creativity, talents, and dedication. So please mark your calendars and plan to attend. The opening exhibition is Tuesday, May 7 from 6:00 - 8:30 pm in the HS new gym.
Additional viewing times are:
Tuesday, May 7, daytime from 8am - 6pm
Wednesday, May 8 daytime from 8am - 3pm
Wednesday, May 8 evening from 6:00 - 8:30 pm
Thursday, May 9 daytime from 8am - 3pm
It’s FREE to the public! We are looking forward to seeing you there!
Garnet Valley CTC Quick Tip #33 April is Alcohol Awareness
The results are back from the 2017 Pennsylvania Youth Survey for Garnet Valley’s 6th, 8th, 10th, and 12th graders. We also have results from 2013 and 2015.
The results of this anonymous survey are self-reported and represent 83.9% of our students.
Did you know? We got some more good news from our PAYS results for 2017. The statistic for regular Binge Drinking for 12th graders has decreased from 30% in 2013 to 19% in 2015 to 16% in 2017. Binge drinking means having 5 or more alcoholic drinks in a row. We are now 1% lower than the state rate for 12th graders and our 10th grade statistics for Binge Drinking declined from 11.7% in 2015 to 3.0% in 2017. Overall, we have achieved an average percentage of Binge Drinking for all grades at 4.9% which for the first time is lower than the state average of 8%.
Call to action… Keep talking to your children about the dangers of underage alcohol use. Binge Drinking is a big deal. The CDC (Center for Disease Control) reports that:
· Binge drinkers are 14 times more likely to report alcohol-impaired driving than non-binge drinkers.5
· About 90% of the alcohol consumed by youth under the age of 21 in the United States is in the form of binge drinks.6
Please see below for information from the CDC and NCADD.
http://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/binge-drinking.htm
http://www.ncadd.org/images/stories/PDF/factsaboutunderagedrinking.pdf
UPCOMING PARENT WORKSHOPS & COMMUNITY EVENTS
Jaguarmax Radio Podcast
Want a chance to be on the podcast? Students can submit a book review here and you might get to read it and be on iTunes!
Jaguarmax Radio Podcast on iTunes
Important Links
After School Activity Dismissal Procedures - Dismissal Locations
VEFLS - Foreign Language Contact Person, kgardler@yahoo.com or 610-717-2755
Cafeteria Information - Menus and Payments
GVES Yearly Calendar - Important Dates
Safe Arrival - Attendance Reporting App
GVSD App - Download app here
MySchoolBucks - Online Payments
District Text Messaging Opt-In - Registration Info
Parent Right to Know Information
Connect with GVES! Now Podcasting!
Garnet Valley Elementary School
"A Caring Community of Learners"
Est. 1997
The mission of our learning community is to maximize the potential of all students by empowering them to do their personal best.
Website: gves.garnetvalleyschools.com
Location: 599 Smithbridge Rd
Phone: (610) 579-4150
Facebook: facebook.com/GarnetValleyES
Twitter: @GarnetValleyES